Rineloricaria microlepidogaster (Regan 1904)

Possesses the characters of the rocky group and can be diagnosed within the species of the rocky group by the following characters: asymmetrical tooth cusps (vs. almost symmetrical cusps in Rineloricaria aequalicuspis); spotted color pattern in all fins (vs. a unique color pattern composed of one dark, wide band covering most of the distal one-half of all fins in Rineloricaria baliola); narrower head, head width 74.7-83.5 (vs. 83.7-93.6% of head length in Rineloricaria jaraguensis); 5-11 teeth in both dentary and premaxilla (vs. 12-16 teeth in each jaw in Rineloricaria latirostris); plated abdomen (vs. naked or almost naked in Rineloricaria malabarbai and Rineloricaria maquinensis); and short dorsal unbranched principal caudal-fin ray (vs. dorsal unbranched principal caudal-fin ray produced in a filament in Rineloricaria pentamaculata) (Ref. 75788).

Assumed to be like Rineloricaria fallax.

Occurs in watercourses with slow to fast flow, clear to brown water with rocky, sandy, or muddy bottom (Ref. 75788). Encountered in polluted waters (Ref. 75788).

fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial

Rineloricaria microlepidogaster is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Lagoa dos Patos basin, as well as possibly the Paraná River basin, in Argentina and Brazil. It is typically seen in environments with slow to fast water flow, clear to brown water, and a substrate composed of rocks, sand, or mud, including polluted waters. The species reaches 19.3 cm (7.6 inches) in standard length and is believed to be a facultative air-breather.